IATS Conference in Mongolia Discussed Climate Change in Tibet

Tempa Gyaltsen presenting his piece on ‘climate change on Tibetan Plateau and its Impact on Asian water resources at the panel.

ULAANBATAR, Mongolia: The 13th conference of the International Association for Tibetan Studies (IATS) is currently underway at Ulaanbatar in Mongolia from 21-26 July, where for the first time at the conference, the issue of climate change on the Tibetan plateau was discussed.

Various speakers including eminent scientists, archeologists, professors, Ph. D candidates and researchers from around the globe gathered at a panel entitled “Changing Climate on the Tibetan Plateau” on 25 July. The panel presented some interesting findings about the impact of Climate Change on the Tibetan Plateau historically as well as in the present days. This is first time ever at an IATS conference where climate change on the Tibetan Plateau was prominently discussed and assigned as a separate exclusive panel for climate scientists and researchers.

Some of the speakers at the panel include Associate Professor Emily Yeh from the Department of Geography at the University of Colorado, Associate Professor DU Fachun, from the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Dr. Hildegard Diemberger, a senior associate in Research at the Mongolia and Inner Asia Studies Unit at the University of Cambridge, Professor Mark S. Aldenderfer, an anthropologist and archaeologist at the School of Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts at the University of California, as well as a host of other professors, Ph.D. candidates and researchers on the panel.

Mr. Zamlha Tempa Gyaltsen also gave a presentation on “Climate change on Tibetan Plateau and its Impact on Asian Water resources” at the panel. He raised the issue of land degradation on the Tibetan Plateau induced both by natural and human factors which results into serious implication on most of the Asian rivers originating from the Tibetan plateau.